Apple v. Samsung, regarding the issue of relevancy:
3. Relevance
Finally, the Court considers whether the documents destroyed by Apple were relevant to this litigation. "[S]poliation of evidence raises a presumption that the destroyed evidence goes to the merits of the case, and further, that such evidence was adverse to the party that destroyed it." Dong Ah Tire & Rubber Co., 2009 WL 1949124, at *10 (citing Phoceene Sous-Marine, 682 F.2d at 806). "[I]f spoliation is shown, the burden of proof logically shifts to the guilty party to show that no prejudice resulted from the spoliation" because that party "is in a much better position to show what was destroyed and should not be able to benefit from its wrongdoing." Hynix Semiconductor, 591 F.Supp.2d at 1060.
Here, Samsung points to the paltry production of emails and documents from at least 13 key Apple witnesses, including Chris Stringer (a named inventor on the D'677 and D'889 Patents); Shin Nishibori (a named inventor on the D'889, D'087, and D'677 Patents); Jonathan Ive (a named inventor on the D'087, D'677, and D'899 Patents); Scott Forstall (a named inventor on the '163 Patent); and Steve Jobs (former CEO of Apple and a named inventor on the D'087, D'677, and D'889 Patents). See Binder Decl. ¶¶ 20-21; see ECF No. 1388 (Samsung's motion) at 6-8; ECF No. 1600 (Samsung's reply) at 10-11. For example, Chris Stringer produced only 38 custodial documents and only 15 custodial e-mails, compared to 519 non-custodial e-mails. See Binder Decl. ¶¶ 20-21; Decl. of Jason Bartlett in Opp'n to Samsung's Mot. for Adverse Inference Jury Instruction, ECF No. 1592 ("Bartlett Decl."), ¶ 2. Shin Nishibori produced only 94 custodial documents and 18 custodial e-mails, compared to 136 non-custodial e-mails. See Binder Decl. ¶¶ 20-21; Bartlett Decl. ¶ 2. Steve Jobs produced only 54 custodial documents and 51 custodial e-mails, compared to 1,670 non-custodial e-mails. See Binder Decl. ¶¶ 20-21; Bartlett Decl. ¶ 2. Finally, Scott Forstall produced only 172 custodial e-mails, compared to 1,027 non-custodial e-mails. See Binder Decl. ¶¶ 20-21; Bartlett Decl. ¶ 2. It is reasonable to infer that documents produced by these key Apple witnesses, who are named inventors on various Apple patents asserted in this suit, would have been relevant to this litigation, and likewise that the destruction of any such documents prejudiced Samsung. See Leon, 464 F.3d at 960; Residential Funding, 306 F.3d at 109; In re Napster, 462 F.Supp.2d at 1078. This same type of statistical analysis was used by Judge Grewal to support his finding that Samsung spoliated evidence, notwithstanding Samsung's substandard preservation efforts. See Adverse Inference Order, 881 F.Supp.2d at 1147-49. Furthermore, although Apple argues that it was more prejudiced by the destruction of Samsung documents between August 2010 and April 2011, when Samsung was still in the process of designing some of the accused products, than vice versa, the Court agrees with Samsung that Apple's destruction of documents during that same time period also prejudiced Samsung. Apple's documents during that time period, which may have included Apple's internal assessments, teardowns, and other analyses of Samsung products, would be highly probative of issues in this case. It is only fair that the same standard of analysis be applied in adjudging the merits of Samsung's motion as was applied to Apple's.
In sum, the Court finds that Apple's failure between August 2010 and April 2011 to issue any litigation hold notices or take other precautionary measures to ensure the preservation of evidence relevant to this litigation violated Apple's duty to preserve.
AI
